Hi DSST! My name is Lisa Gibbs, and I work as part of our College Success team at DSST: Montview High School. This is my third year at DSST, and I was so honored and grateful to be given the 2020 Core Value Award for Integrity last winter. All of our students at DSST know, and can tell you, that integrity means “doing the right thing when nobody's watching.” As teachers and educators our ultimate goal is that our students will do just that. They will develop a moral compass to respect and honor the human condition, something that is at the root of all we do at DSST. I am surrounded by peers who have the utmost integrity, peers who trust their intuition to adapt for students and peers who collaborate and have conflict, honestly and respectfully, to allow our network to grow and thrive. I work with people who have the integrity to be vulnerable and share experiences with students, with families and with each other.
Our students should also know that sometimes integrity is doing the right (and often difficult) thing when everyone is watching. I am inspired by those I work with who exhibit that everyday, and that is something that I continue to strive for. I am so thankful to DSST for honoring me with the Core Value Award for Integrity and feel like I share it with, and owe it to, the entire network and particularly my College Success teammates, Kelsey and Nuvia, at DSST: Montview. They inspire me, push me and hold me accountable every day as we work to honor every student, every family and every possible option for our students' futures. Integrity is making sure all students, all our families, all our peers feel seen and like they matter. DSST does that every day.
Convivir Colorado is an organization that does the same: they let all youth and their families know that they matter, that they are seen and that they have power and choice. Convivir Colorado encompasses the value of integrity. Convivir’s mission is to support immigrant youth and their families in accessing everything from education to financial resources to community engagement opportunities and more. Convivir is what Integrity looks like and I am glad DSST will donate to them on my behalf.